California State University at Northridge
1-2
Montana State
0-3
Matadors Lead Wire-to-Wire, Top Montana State 72-65
11/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
En Español
NORTHRIDGE, Calif. -
Following a tough road trip against a pair of ranked opponents last weekend the CSUN Matadors (1-2) returned home and never trailed against Montana State (0-3), defeating the Bobcats 72-65 on Wednesday night at The Matadome in the team's 2014-15 home opener. With the victory the Matadors claimed a win in their home opener for the 13th consecutive season, dating back to the start of the 2002-03 campaign.
"I thought our guys stayed with the game plan really well and I thought early in the game it took Montana State almost five minutes before they got a good shot off," said CSUN head coach Reggie Theus. "We really played hard defensively. Anytime you play against a team that plays a zone defense 99 percent of the game and you score almost 75 points, you're doing some good things offensively."
Both teams had trouble finding points early in the game, but a jumper in the lane by Stephan Hicks and a breakaway dunk by Stephen Maxwell had the Matadors ahead 4-0 at the first media timeout. The Matadors played a stifling brand of defense against the Bobcats through much of the first half, keeping Montana State without a made basket until Marcus Colbert hit a 3-pointer with 7:28 to play in the period.
In the meantime, the Matadors built up a 16-point lead and had as big as an 18-point cushion before taking a 35-21 advantage into halftime. CSUN shot 56 percent (14-for-25) from the field and committed just five fouls as a team while forcing 10 Montana State turnovers.
A couple of layups by Aaron Parks in the first minutes of the second half helped CSUN increase its lead to 18 points once more, but Stephan Holm nailed five 3-pointers to help the Bobcats close the game before the night was through. The Matadors saw their lead whittled down to six points with 9:24 to play before Tre Hale-Edmerson, Maxwell and Hicks led CSUN on a 10-0 run over four minutes.
Free-throws and 3-pointers kept the Bobcats in the contest and Montana State got to within five points of catching the Matadors with 19 seconds remaining, but the late surge was not enough to overcome the deficit. Two foul shots by Hicks and a fast-break basket by Hale-Edmerson sealed the victory for the Matadors.
Hicks led all scorers in the game with 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting and a 9-for-10 night at the free-throw line. Maxwell finished with 15 points and six rebounds and Hale-Edmerson collected seven rebounds and four blocks to go along with six points. Newcomer Devonte Elliott had a breakout performance with seven points, seven rebounds and five blocks in 22 minutes off the bench, while Ajon Efferson and Parks each scored eight points as reserves.
"I think getting the first win is huge," said Hicks after the game. "In order to be a good team, we have to win all of our home games."
Holm went 6-for-13 from the floor, including 5-for-12 from 3-point territory to lead the Bobcats with 20 points. Colbert and Michael Dison joined him in double-figures with 15 and 11 points, respectively.
The Matadors head back out on the road this weekend to conclude play in the 2014 EA Sports Maui Invitational Mainland Challenge. CSUN will face Samford at 11 a.m. PST on Saturday, Nov. 22, in Little Rock, Ark. The next day, the Matadors will take on either the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) or the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, also at 11 a.m. PST. Both games will be live streamed online courtesy of UALR Athletics.
